‘Even if he considers you a friend, like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie will come first…’
(Claire Russel, Liberty Headlines) Former Democratic Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin said Democrats should expect Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to “play dirty” during the remainder of the 2020 presidential campaign.
“What I’ve seen in Bernie’s politics is he and his team feel they’re holier than the rest,” said Shumlin, who served as Vermont’s governor from 2011 to 2017.
“In the end, they will play dirty because they think that they pass a purity test that Republicans and most Democrats don’t pass,” he told Politico.
Shumlin has endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden.
Sanders, a registered independent and a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist, lacks loyalty to the Democratic Party, Shumlin said, citing Sanders’s recent feud with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.
“What you’re seeing now is, in the end, even if he considers you a friend, like Elizabeth Warren, Bernie will come first. That’s the pattern we’ve seen over the years in Vermont, and that’s what we are seeing now nationally,” he said.
Sanders is trying to “Hillarize” Warren and make her unlikeable, Shumlin continued.
“We should be weakening Donald Trump, not each other,” Shumlin said. “I’m concerned that we’re seeing a replay of the kind of dynamics that didn’t allow Hillary to win.”
Warren has accused Sanders of telling her back in 2016 that a woman couldn’t win the presidency. However, Sanders has denied the reports.
After last week’s Democratic primary debate, Warren confronted Sanders for calling her a “liar” by denying reports that he had made sexist remarks. After refusing to shake his hand, Warren tried to confront Sanders, who tried to deescalate the situation.
“Let’s not do it right now,” he said. “You want to have that discussion? We’ll have that discussion.”
Warren replied, “Anytime.”
Sanders then added, “You called me a liar,” before concluding, “All right, let’s not do it now.”